3 students allowed to work on Amendment 64 effort as community service

By Mitchell Byars, Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
09/19/2012 10:57:12 AM MDT

Updated:
09/20/2012 09:09:10 AM MDT

University of Colorado students Jonathan Edwards, front, and John Demoupoulus, middle, are arrested by Boulder County sheriff's deputies on allegations they trespassed on Norlin Quad on April 20, 2012, during CU's crackdown on 4/20. (Jeremy Papasso / Daily Camera file photo)

Boulder County prosecutors dropped all charges Wednesday against three University of Colorado students accused of trespassing during the Boulder campus's unprecedented 4/20 closure because the defendants have since performed community service -- by volunteering to campaign for Colorado's pro-marijuana Amendment 64.

District Attorney Stan Garnett said he agreed to drop the low-level trespassing charges, but didn't ultimately have a say in the students' community service, since the group they volunteered with -- the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws -- is a nonprofit organization.

"I wasn't particularly happy with their choice of community service, because it politicizes a low-level criminal case," Garnett said. "But that's their choice, not my office's choice."

Gabriel Kuettel (Boulder County Sheriff's Office)

Following their arrest on April 20, John Mark Demoupoulus, 21, Jonathan DuComb Edwards, 25, and Gabriel Kuettel, 24, pleaded not guilty to trespassing charges in Boulder Municipal Court before their cases were transferred to Boulder County Court.

"It feels good. It feels like a burden has been lifted," Kuettel said of having the charges dismissed after nearly five months. "I'm proud of what I did. I think I did the right thing and I think the dismissal of the case reflects that."

The three students were arrested after they sat on CU's closed-off Norlin Quad and refused to move in the hours leading up to the unsanctioned 4/20 marijuana smoke-out. After fending off a court challenge, the university had shut down the quad completely and closed the campus to all non-students in an effort to kill the annual smoke-out that, in years, past had drawn more then 10,000 people.

All three students were represented by Sean McAllister, of Denver, who argued they simply were expressing their First Amendment rights.

"The students did not know each other prior to 4/20, but came together to stand up for what they thought was right and to protect the rights of free speech and assembly," McAllister said.

Edwards said there was a brief time when he was worried the charges would not be dropped, but he credited his attorneys with working out a deal with prosecutors.

Jonathan DuComb Edwards (Boulder County Sheriff's Office)

"It's always good to fight for your rights," he said.

Garnett said that in low-level trespassing cases like these, dismissals in exchange for community service are not uncommon.

"It was the lowest level of trespassing," he said. "They didn't enter any buildings or any homes, they basically walked past a barrier. Especially in cases with CU students in minor criminal cases, we want a way to have them be accountable but be able to put the incident behind them and get on with their lives -- and that's what we tried to do here."

All three performed their community service by working on the campaign for Amendment 64, which, if passed, would legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in Colorado and regulate the drug like alcohol.

John Mark Demoupoulus (Boulder County Sheriff's Office)

Though both Edwards and Kuettel said they don't regret what they did in April, they admitted the legal process was a tiring one.

"I don't think I would want to do it again because of how long the court process is," Kuettel said. "But if I had to go back on that day I wouldn't change what I did."

Edwards said he hadn't been planning to do anything on 4/20 this year, but said CU does need to have a more in-depth discussion about the campus closure.

"I think there needs to be a talk where a lot of students show up," he said.

Should a similar incident happen at next year's 4/20, Garnett said he will evaluate each case individually based on the evidence.

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